THOOTHUKUDI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday inaugurated the Idaiseval panchayat union middle school, which was recently renovated in the memory of renowned 'Karisal writer' Ki Rajanarayanan, who did his schooling there. Stalin unveiled the building through videoconferencing from Chennai in the presence of Ministers KR Periyakarupan, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, and Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu.
The dilapidated school building, established in 1946, was renovated at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. Materials such as limestone, river sand, karupatti, kadukai and egg mix were used to refurbish the building without altering its archaic grandeur. Roof tiles similar to the already existing ones, teak wood and palmyra wood frames were also used. The Chief Minister had earlier announced that the school would be revamped as a mark of respect for Ki Rajanarayanan.
Fondly called Ki Ra in the literary world, Rajanarayanan was born as the fifth child to Krishna Ramanujam and Lakshmi Ammal on September 16, 1922, in Idaiseval village. His stories focused on labourers, farmers, children and livelihoods of people native to the dry tracts of black soil areas, dubbed as Karisal region. He is the recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award in 1991, and the Manonmaniam Sundaranar Award for the year 2016-17. Ki Ra died on May 17, 2021, at the age of 99.
Meanwhile, Additional Collector (development) V Saravanan lit a traditional lamp at the school in Idaiseval on Tuesday to mark the inauguration.